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Laser Communication Links in Orbit have become routine for Alphasat TDP1 GEO data relay and Sentinel-1A LEO satellite. Since November 2014, an extensive campaign has demonstrated stable and bit-error free links over distances of up to 45.000km with 1.1W optical transmit power and data rates of up to 1.8Gbps. Link acquisition is achieved reliably within less than 55s. Links with low grazing altitude investigate the impact of atmosphere to link performance. The optical links between Sentinel-1A and Alphasat are in collaboration of ESA, DLR, and TESAT Spacecom. Alphasat TDP1 is the precursor for European Data Relay Satellite System EDRS [1].

Research and development of space optical communications is conducted in the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT). The NICT developed the Small Optical TrAnsponder (SOTA), which was embarked on a 50kg-class satellite and launched into a low earth orbit (LEO). The space-to-ground laser communication experiments have been conducted with the SOTA. Atmospheric turbulence causes signal fadings and becomes an issue to be solved in satellite-to-ground laser communication links. Therefore, as error-correcting functions, a Reed-Solomon (RS) code and a Low-Density Generator Matrix (LDGM) code are implemented in the communication system onboard the SOTA. In this paper, we present the in-orbit verification results of SOTA including the characteristic of the functions, the communication performance with the LDGM code via satellite-to-ground atmospheric paths, and the link budget analysis and the comparison between theoretical and experimental results.

The Optical PAyload for Lasercomm Science (OPALS) experiment on the International Space Station (ISS) recently demonstrated successful optical downlinks to the NASA/JPL 1-m aperture telescope at the Optical Communication Telescope Laboratory (OCTL) located near Wrightwood, CA. A large area (200 μm diameter) free space coupled avalanche photodiode (APD) detector was used to receive video and a bit patterns at 50 Mb/s. We report on a recent experiment that used an adaptive optics system at OCTL to correct for atmospherically-induced refractive index fluctuations so that the downlink from the ISS could be coupled into a single mode fiber receiver. Stable fiber coupled power was achieved over an entire pass using a self-referencing interferometer based adaptive optics system that was provided and operated by Boeing Co. and integrated to OCTL. End-to-end transmission and reconstruction of an HD video signal verified the communication performance as in the original OPALS demonstration. Coupling the signal into a single mode fiber opens the possibility for higher bandwidth and efficiency modulation schemes and serves as a pilot experiment for future implementations.

The paper presents implementation and validation results for a CubeSat-scale laser transmitter. The master oscillator power amplifier (MOPA) design produces a 1550 nm, 200mW average power optical signal through the use of a directly modulated laser diode and a commercial fiber amplifier. The prototype design produces high-fidelity M-ary pulse position modulated (PPM) waveforms (M=8 to 128), targeting data rates > 10 Mbit/s while meeting a constraining 8W power allocation. We also present the implementation of an avalanche photodiode (APD) receiver with measured transmitter-to-receiver performance within 3 dB of theory. Via loopback, the compact receiver design can provide built-in self-test and calibration capabilities, and supports incremental on-orbit testing of the design.

Tesat together with Synopta have built a Transportable Adaptive Optical Ground Station (TAOGS) under contract of German Aerospace Center DLR for communication with the 1st and 2nd generation of Tesat’s spaceborne Laser Communication Terminals (LCTs), which employ coherent homodyne optical communication with 1064 nm and binary phase shift keying (BPSK) modulation. The TAOGS is able to communicate with space segments on low earth orbit (LEO, high pointing and tracking dynamics, 5.625 Gbps), and with space segments on geostationary orbit (GEO, low pointing dynamics, up to 40,000 km distance, optical data rate of 2.8125 Gbps and user data rate of 1.8 Gbps). After an alignment and testing phase at the location of Izana, Tenerife, using the TDP1 LCT on geostationary Alphasat as counter terminal, the TAOGS is now fully functioning. Several up-links, down-links and bi-directional links have been performed. Experimental results of some of these links are presented. An outlook to further activities is given.

The Lunar Laser Communication Demonstration (LLCD) flown on the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) satellite achieved record uplink and downlink communication data rates between a satellite orbiting the Moon and an Earth-based ground terminal. In addition, the high-speed signals of the communication system were used to accurately measure the round-trip time-of-flight (TOF) of signals sent to the Moon and back to the Earth. The measured TOF data, sampled at a 20-kS/s rate, and converted to distance, was processed to show a Gaussian white noise floor typically less than 1 cm RMS. This resulted in a precision for relative distance measurements more than two orders-of-magnitude finer than the RF-based navigation and ranging systems used during the LADEE mission. This paper presents an overview of the LLCD TOF system, a summary of the on-orbit measurements, and an analysis of the accuracy of the measured data for the mission.

In collaboration between CNES, NICT, Geoazur, the first successful lasercom link between the micro-satellite SOCRATES and an OGS in Europe has been established. This paper presents some results of telecom and scintillation first data analysis for 4 successful links in June & July 2015 between SOTA terminal and MEO optical ground station (OGS) at Caussols France. The telecom and scintillation data have been continuously recorded during the passes by using a detector developed at the laboratory. An irradiance of 190 nW/m2 and 430 nW/m2 has been detected for 1549 nm and 976 nm downlinks at 35° elevation. Spectrums of power fluctuation measured at OGS are analyzed at different elevation angles and at different diameters of telescope aperture to determine fluctuations caused by pointing error (due to satellite & OGS telescope vibrations) and caused by atmospheric turbulence. Downlink & Uplink budgets are analyzed, the theoretical estimation matches well to measured power levels. Telecom signal forms and bit error rates (BER) of 1549 nm and 976 nm downlink are also shown at different diameters of telescope aperture. BER is 'Error Free' with full-aperture 1.5m telescope, and almost in ‘good channel’ with 0.4 m sub-aperture of telescope. We also show the comparison between the expected and measured BER distributions.

Space systems operating in low-Earth orbit are often constrained by how much data can be delivered from space to ground. Traditional data delivery approaches are often limited by either large link losses associated with transmission via a geosynchronous relay satellite or short contact times and spectrum-constrained data rates associated with direct-to-Earth radio-frequency links. Direct-to-Earth optical communication links from low-Earth orbit based on fiber telecommunications technologies that can operate at high data rates (> 100 Gb/s per wavelength channel) can enable the delivery of extremely large volumes of data from space to ground. We analyze the performance of such systems and discuss the performance gains that are enabled by coupling the received signal to an efficient single-mode-fiber-based receiver, even in the presence of turbulence-induced losses.

Optical Ground Station 1 (OGS1) is the first of a new breed of dedicated ground terminals to support NASA’s developing space-based optical communications infrastructure. It is based at NASA’s Optical Communications Telescope Laboratory (OCTL) at the Table Mountain Observatory near Wrightwood, CA. The system will serve as the primary ground station for NASA’s Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD) experiment. This paper presents an overview of the OCTL telescope facility, the OGS1 ground-based optical communications systems, and the networking and control infrastructure currently under development. The OGS1 laser safety systems and atmospheric monitoring systems are also briefly described.

NASA is presently developing the first all-optical high data rate satellite relay system, LCRD. To be flown on a geosynchronous satellite, it will communicate with DPSK and PPM modulation formats up to 1.244 Gbps. LCRD flight payload is being developed by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. The two ground stations, one on Table Mountain in CA, developed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and another on a Hawaiian island will enable bi-directional relay operation and ground sites diversity experiments.

To meet increasing demands of high-speed data transmission, JAXA has started to develop a new optical data relay system. This system provides 1.8Gbit/s data relay service through optical inter-satellite link and Ka-band feeder link using JDRS, a data relay satellite. The first user satellite is the Advanced Optical Satellite, a Japanese optical observation satellite in low earth orbit. As a total data relay system, the data relay satellite, Ka-band ground stations and two optical terminals for JDRS and the Advanced Optical Satellite are developed together. Target launch year of JDRS is 2019 in Japanese fiscal year. This paper describes the development plan and technologies of the optical data relay system.

To match the increasing need for high data rate between high altitude platforms and ground free space optics links are investigated. Part of the growing interest is motivated by the possibility to reap the benefits of the technological maturity of the fibered components. This requires the injection of the received wave into a single mode fiber. To reduce injection losses on the ground terminal the use of adaptive optics (AO) is investigated. The AO system must work for a wide variety of turbulence conditions: by daytime and nighttime, at potentially very low elevations for LEO satellites, with localizations of optical ground stations that could be unfavorable regarding atmospheric turbulence. Contrary to astronomy where the quantity optimized is the average Strehl ratio, for free space communications statistical and temporal characteristics of the injection losses must be taken into account. The consequences of a partial correction are investigated here by numerical simulation for both GEO and LEO to ground links.

For bi-directional links between high-altitude-platforms (HAPs) and ground, and air-to-air communication between such platforms, a hemispherical +30°C field-of-regard and low-drag low-mass two-axis gimbal was designed and prototyped. The gimbal comprises two servo controlled non-orthogonal elevation over azimuth axis, and inner fast steering mirrors for fine field-of-regard adjustment. The design encompasses a 7.5cm diameter aperture refractive telescope in its elevation stage, folded between two flat mirrors with an exit lens leading to a two mirrors miniature Coude-path fixed to the azimuth stage. Multiple gimbal configurations were traded prior to finalizing a selection that met the requirements. The selected design was manifested onboard a carbon fiber and magnesium composite structure, motorized by custom-built servo motors, and commutated by optical encoders. The azimuth stage is electrically connected to the stationary base via slip ring while the elevation stage made of passive optics. Both axes are aligned by custom-built ceramic-on-steel angular contact duplex bearings, and controlled by embedded electronics featuring a rigid-flex PCB architecture. FEA analysis showed that the design is mechanically robust over a temperature range of +60°C to -80°C, and with first mode of natural frequencies above 400Hz. The total mass of the prototyped gimbal is 3.5kg, including the inner optical bench, which contains fast steering mirrors (FSMs) and tracking sensors. Future version of this gimbal, in prototyping stage, shall weigh less than 3.0kg.

We demonstrate a multi-rate burst-mode photon-counting receiver for undersea communication at data rates up to 10.416 Mb/s over a 30-foot water channel. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of burst-mode photon-counting communication. With added attenuation, the maximum link loss is 97.1 dB at λ=517 nm. In clear ocean water, this equates to link distances up to 148 meters. For λ=470 nm, the achievable link distance in clear ocean water is 450 meters. The receiver incorporates soft-decision forward error correction (FEC) based on a product code of an inner LDPC code and an outer BCH code. The FEC supports multiple code rates to achieve error-free performance. We have selected a burst-mode receiver architecture to provide robust performance with respect to unpredictable channel obstructions. The receiver is capable of on-the-fly data rate detection and adapts to changing levels of signal and background light. The receiver updates its phase alignment and channel estimates every 1.6 ms, allowing for rapid changes in water quality as well as motion between transmitter and receiver. We demonstrate on-the-fly rate detection, channel BER within 0.2 dB of theory across all data rates, and error-free performance within 1.82 dB of soft-decision capacity across all tested code rates. All signal processing is done in FPGAs and runs continuously in real time.

Free-space optical communications can play a significant role in line-of-sight links. In general, data can be encoded on the amplitude, phase, or temporal position of the optical wave. Importantly, there are environments for which ever-more information is desired for a given amount of optical energy. This can be accomplished if there are more degrees-of-freedom that the wave can occupy to provide higher energy efficiency for a given capacity (i.e., bits/photon). Traditionally, free-space optical links have used only a single beam, such that there was little opportunity for a wave to occupy more than one spatial location, thereby not allowing the spatial domain to be used for data encoding. Recently, space- and mode-multiplexing has been demonstrated to simultaneously transmit multiple data-carrying free-space beams. Each spatially overlapping mode was orthogonal to other modes and carried a unique amount of orbital-angular-momentum (OAM). In this paper, we consider that OAM modes could be a data-encoding domain, such that a beam could uniquely occupy one of many modes, i.e., 4 modes would provide 4 possible states and double the bits of information for the same amount of energy. In the past, such OAM-based encoding was shown at kHz data rates. We will present the architecture and experimental results for OAM-based data encoding for a free-space 1.55-μm data link under different system parameters. Key features of the results include: (a) encoding on several modes is accomplished using a fast switch, and (b) low bit-error-rates are achieved at >Gbit/s, which is orders-of-magnitude faster than previous results.

We report an innovative free Space optical communication and navigation system which provides high data rate communication, precise measurements of spacecraft ranging, range rate, and accurate spacecraft pointing. A complete breadboard system was built. It includes both space and ground terminals. Along with 622MBPS data link, two way ranging were conducted. 23μm ranging and 23μm/s range rate accuracies were achieved in 1 second integrating time. These ranging performance is not sensitive to the communication error rate. The high ranging and range rate accuracies were achieved through the relative phase measurement of transmit and receive clock with Dual Mixer Timer Difference measurement apparatus.

A partially coherent beam (PCB) is modulated at 1 Gbps with pseudorandom bit sequence data stream and propagated through laboratory turbulence. Eye diagrams are measured and compared to those resulting from a fully coherent beam propagated through the same turbulence. Reduced scintillations of the PCB, as measured separately, expectedly result in a higher quality eye as compared to that of a fully coherent beam. Experimental data is supported by numerical modeling. This work demonstrates the feasibility and simplicity of using PCBs for Gbps data rate free-space optical communication through turbulent atmosphere.

The performance of free space optical (FSO) communication systems is strongly affected by optical scintillation. Scintillation fades can cause errors when the power on a detector falls below its noise floor, while surges can overload a detector. The very long time scale of scintillation compared to a typical bit in an FSO link means that error-correcting protocols designed for fiber optic links are inappropriate for FSO links.

Comparing the performance effects of different components, such as photodetectors, or protocols, such as forward error correction, in the field is difficult because conditions are constantly changing. On the other hand, laboratory-based turbulence simulators, often using hot plates and fans, do not really simulate the effects of long-range propagation through the atmosphere.

We have investigated a different approach. Scintillation has been measured during field tests using FSO terminals by sending a continuous wave beam through the atmosphere. A high dynamic range photodetector was digitized at a 10 KHz rate and files of the intensity variations were saved. Many hours of scintillation data under different environmental conditions and at different sites have been combined into a library of data.

A fiber-optic based scintillation playback system was then used in the laboratory to test modems and protocols with the recorded files. This allowed comparisons using the same atmospheric conditions allowing optimization of such parameters as detector dynamic range. It also allowed comparison and optimization of different error correcting protocols.

We present a demonstration of a high-rate photon counting receiver with the potential to act as a spatial tracker based on a silicon Geiger-mode avalanche photodiode array (GM-APD). This array enables sensitive high-rate optical communication in the visible and near infrared regions of the spectrum. The array contains 1024 elements arranged in a 32x32 pixel square. This large number of elements supports high data rates through the mitigation of blocking losses and associated data rate limitations created by the reset time of an individual Geiger-mode detector. Measurement of bit error rates demonstrate that receiver sensitivities of 2.55 dB (detected) photons-per-bit for 78.8 Mb/s on-off-keying and -0.46 dB (detected) photons-per-bit for 19.4 Mb/s 16-ary pulse-position modulation are accessible with strong forward error correction. Additionally, the array can record the spatial coordinates of each detection event. By computing the centroid of the distribution of spatial detections it is possible to determine the angle-of-arrival of the detected photons. These levels of performance imply that Si GM-APD arrays are excellent candidates for a variety of free space lasercom applications ranging from atmospheric communication in the 1 micron or 780 nm spectral windows to underwater communication in the 480 nm to 520 nm spectral window

In this paper, optical uplink and downlink are studied in order to ensure the feeder link of the next generation of broadband geostationary satellite with capacity around 1Tbps. For such capacity, optical links are commonly based on pre-amplified optical receiver with Single Mode Fiber (SMF) optical amplifier. Adaptive optic systems are necessary to compensate the distortions embedded by the atmospheric turbulences that decrease the injection efficiency of the downlink and the pointing accuracy of uplink. This paper is focused on the performances achievable with a simple system based on a single fine pointing mechanism. Considering a digital optical feeder link that is transparent with respect to the user segment, a promising capacity per satellite of 300GHz is achieved.

A technology demonstration of free space optical communication at interplanetary distances is planned via one or more future NASA deep-space missions. Such demonstrations will "pave the way" for operational use of optical communications on future robotic/potential Human missions. Hence, the Deep Space Network architecture will need to evolve. Preliminary attempts to model the anticipated future mission set and simulate how well it loads onto assumed architectures with combinations of RF and optical apertures have been evaluated. This paper discusses the results of preliminary loading simulations for hybrid RF-optical network architectures and highlights key mission and ground infrastructure considerations that emerge.

A number of laser communication link demonstrations from near Earth distances extending out to lunar ranges have been remarkably successful, demonstrating the augmented channel capacity that is accessible with the use of lasers for communications. The next hurdle on the path to extending laser communication and its benefits throughout the solar system and beyond is to demonstrate deep-space laser communication links. In this paper, concepts and technology development being advanced at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in order to enable deep-space link demonstrations to ranges of approximately 3 AU in the next decade, will be discussed.

Components for free space optical communication terminals such as lasers, amplifiers, and receivers have all seen substantial reduction in both size and power consumption over the past several decades. However, pointing systems, such as fast steering mirrors and gimbals, have remained large, slow and power-hungry. Optical phased arrays provide a possible solution for non-mechanical beam steering devices that can be compact and lower in power. Silicon photonics is a promising technology for phased arrays because it has the potential to scale to many elements and may be compatible with CMOS technology thereby enabling batch fabrication. For most free space optical communication applications, two-dimensional beam steering is needed. To date, silicon photonic phased arrays have achieved two-dimensional steering by combining thermo-optic steering, in-plane, with wavelength tuning by means of an output grating to give angular tuning, out-of-plane. While this architecture might work for certain static communication links, it would be difficult to implement for moving platforms. Other approaches have required N2 controls for an NxN element phased array, which leads to complexity. Hence, in this work we demonstrate steering using the thermo-optic effect for both dimensions with a simplified steering mechanism requiring only two control signals, one for each steering dimension.

High sensitivity photodetectors serve two purposes in free space optical communication: data reception and position sensing for pointing, tracking, and stabilization. Because of conflicting performance criteria, two separate detectors are traditionally utilized to perform these tasks but recent advances in the fabrication and development of large area, low noise avalanche photodiode (APD) arrays have enabled these devices to be used both as position sensitive detectors (PSD) and as communications receivers. Combining these functionalities allows for more flexibility and simplicity in optical assembly design without sacrificing the sensitivity and bandwidth performance of smaller, single element data receivers. Beyond eliminating the need to separate the return beam into two separate paths, these devices enable implementation of adaptive approaches to compensate for focal plane beam wander and breakup often seen in highly scintillated terrestrial and maritime optical links. While the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) and Optogration Inc, have recently demonstrated the performance of single period, InAlAs/InGaAs APD arrays as combined data reception and tracking sensors, an impact ionization engineered (I2E) epilayer design achieves even lower carrier ionization ratios by incorporating multiple multiplication periods engineered to suppress lower ionization rate carriers while enhancing the higher ionization rate carriers of interest. This work presents a three period I2E concentric, five element avalanche photodiode array rated for bandwidths beyond 1GHz with measured carrier ionization ratios of 0.05-0.1 at moderate APD gains. The epilayer design of the device will be discussed along with initial device characterization and high speed performance measurements.

The HgCdTe APD array routinely demonstrated photon detection efficiencies of greater than 50% across 5 arrays, with one array reaching a maximum PDE of 70%. We performed high-resolution pixel-surface spot scans and measured the junction diameters of its diodes. We found that decreasing the junction diameter from 31 μm to 25 μm doubled the e- APD gain from 470 for an array produced in the year 2010 to a gain of 1100 on an array delivered to NASA GSFC recently. The mean single-photon SNR was over 12 and the excess noise factors measurements were 1.2-1.3.

The commercial silicon APD array exhibited a fast output with rise times of 300 ps and pulse widths of 600 ps. On-chip individually filtered signals from the entire array were multiplexed onto a single fast output.

Gallium Nitride laser diodes fabricated from the AlGaInN material system is an emerging technology for laser sources from the UV to visible and is a potential key enabler for new system applications such as free-space (underwater & air bourne links) and plastic optical fibre telecommunications. We measure visible light (free-space and underwater) communications at high frequency (up to 2.5 Gbit/s) and in plastic optical fibre (POF) using a directly modulated GaN laser diode.

Publisher’s Note: This paper, originally published on 4/1/2016, was replaced with a corrected/revised version on 4/14/2016. If you downloaded the original PDF but are unable to access the revision, please contact SPIE Digital Library Customer Service for assistance.

We describe the performance of versatile high-performance multi-rate WDM laser transmitters using next-generation compact high-extinction-ratio power-efficient (CHERPe) transmitter designs. These leverage periodic time-frequency windowing of directly modulated laser signals to efficiently generate nearly ideal WDM waveforms with only mW-class drive power. facilitating WDM-channelization and providing straightforward access to many THz of available optical spectrum with low-bandwidth electronics. Furthermore, this approach can support scalable multi-rate operation with good power- and photon-efficiency and enable new architectural options. This approach is attractive for numerous applications and systems ranging from small airborne or CubeSAT-sized communication payloads to larger interplanetary lasercom platforms.

The next generation free-space optical (FSO) communications infrastructure will need to support a wide range of links from space-based terminals at LEO, GEO, and deep space to the ground. Efficiently enabling such a diverse mission set requires a common ground station architecture capable of providing excellent sensitivity (i.e., few photons-per-bit) while supporting a wide range of data rates. One method for achieving excellent sensitivity performance is to use integrated digital coherent receivers. Additionally, coherent receivers provide full-field information, which enables efficient temporal coherent combining of block repeated signals. This method allows system designers to trade excess link margin for increased data rate without requiring hardware modifications. We present experimental results that show a 45-dB scaling in data rate over a 41-dB range of input powers by block-repeating and combining a PRBS sequence up to 36,017 times.

Free-space optical (FSO) channels can be characterized by random power fluctuations due to atmospheric turbulence, which is known as scintillation. Weak coherent source based FSO quantum key distribution (QKD) systems suffer from the scintillation effect because during the deep channel fading the expected detection rate drops, which then gives an eavesdropper opportunity to get additional information about protocol by performing photon number splitting (PNS) attack and blocking single-photon pulses without changing QBER. To overcome this problem, in this paper, we study a large-alphabet QKD protocol, which is achieved by using pulse-position modulation (PPM)-like approach that utilizes the time-frequency uncertainty relation of the weak coherent photon state, called here TF-PPM-QKD protocol. We first complete finite size analysis for TF-PPM-QKD protocol to give practical bounds against non-negligible statistical fluctuation due to finite resources in practical implementations. The impact of scintillation under strong atmospheric turbulence regime is studied then. To overcome the secure key rate performance degradation of TF-PPM-QKD caused by scintillation, we propose an adaptation method for compensating the scintillation impact. By changing source intensity according to the channel state information (CSI), obtained by classical channel, the adaptation method improves the performance of QKD system with respect to the secret key rate. The CSI of a time-varying channel can be predicted using stochastic models, such as autoregressive (AR) models. Based on the channel state predictions, we change the source intensity to the optimal value to achieve a higher secret key rate. We demonstrate that the improvement of the adaptation method is dependent on the prediction accuracy.

Fiber-optic communications are moving to coherent detection in order to increase their spectral efficiency, i.e., their channel capacity per unit bandwidth. At power levels below the threshold for significant nonlinear effects, the channel model for such operation a linear time-invariant filter followed by additive Gaussian noise is one whose channel capacity is well known from Shannon's noisy channel coding theorem. The fiber channel, however, is really a bosonic channel, meaning that its ultimate classical information capacity must be determined from quantum-mechanical analysis, viz. from the Holevo-Schumacher-Westmoreland (HSW) theorem. Based on recent results establishing the HSW capacity of a linear (lossy or amplifying) channel with additive Gaussian noise, we provide a general continuous-time result, namely the HSW capacity of a linear time-invariant (LTI) bosonic channel with additive Gaussian noise arising from a thermal environment. In particular, we treat quasi-monochromatic communication under an average power constraint through a channel comprised of a stable LTI filter that may be attenuating at all frequencies or amplifying at some frequencies and attenuating at others. Phase-insensitive additive Gaussian noise-associated with the continuous-time Langevin noise operator needed to preserve free-field commutator brackets is included at the filter output. We compare the resulting spectral efficiencies with corresponding results for heterodyne and homodyne detection over the same channel to assess the increased spectral efficiency that might be realized with optimum quantum reception.

Free-space quantum key distribution (QKD) over water (e.g., ship to ship) may be limited by ship motion and atmospheric effects, such as mode distortion and beam wander due to turbulence. We report on a technique which reduces noise by excluding spatial modes which are less likely to contain QKD signal photons and experimentally demonstrate an improvement in QKD key generation rates in various noise and turbulence regimes.

Establishing a quantum communication network would provide advantages in areas such as security and information processing. Such a network would require the implementation of quantum teleportation between remote parties. However, for photonic "qudits" of dimension greater than two, this teleportation always fails due to the inability to carry out the required quantum Bell-state measurement. A quantum communication protocol called Superdense Teleportation (SDT) can allow the reconstruction of a state without the usual 2-photon Bell-state measurements, enabling the protocol to succeed deterministically even for high dimensional qudits. This technique restricts the class of states transferred to equimodular states, a type of superposition state where each term can differ from the others in phase but not in amplitude; this restricted space of transmitted states allows the transfer to occur deterministically. We report on our implementation of SDT using photon pairs that are entangled in both polarization and temporal mode. After encoding the phases of the desired equimodular state on the signal photon, we perform a complete tomography on the idler photon to verify that we properly prepared the chosen state. Beyond our tabletop demonstration, we are working towards an implementation between a space platform in low earth orbit and a ground telescope, to demonstrate the feasibility of space-based quantum communication. We will discuss the various challenges presented by moving the experiment out of the laboratory, and our proposed solutions to make Superdense Teleportation realizable in the space setting.

Effective coupling of the optical field from free-space to optical fiber is an essential prerequisite for modern free-space optical communications systems. It allows for easier system integration with active and passive optical fiber-coupled components as well as for efficient optical field mixing for coherent communications. While coupling into single-mode fiber provides the advantage of using low-noise erbium-doped fiber preamplifiers, its relatively small mode field diameter limits achievable fiber coupling efficiency. Coupling into multimode fiber (MMF) increases the fiber coupling efficiency while introducing other spurious effects the authors have set out to analyze.

The study of free-space optical beam coupling in the context of satellite communications will be presented. Here, we assume satellite link scenarios with different elevations, which correspond to different index-of-refraction turbulence (IRT) conditions. IRT gives rise to both intensity and phase aberration of the received optical field, which then causes extended speckle patterns in the focus of the receiver telescope. The speckle field at the fiber input is calculated by means of Fourier transform of the received field. Using dedicated modelling software, study of the fiber coupling efficiency, polarization preservation and high-order mode coupling in different multi-mode fibers is carried out.

Effect of scintillations is serious problems in optical systems which require the atmospheric propagation, the optimization of optical system to minimize the effects of scintillation have been examined using the simulation of propagation in atmospheric turbulence. The analytic studies of scintillation index of LG beams show that LG beams have less scintillation than Gaussian beams. However, in these researches, the diameter of receiving aperture was set as point receiver without considering the effects of aperture averaging, which is phenomenon that reduced scintillations over finite aperture. In this paper, considering size of a receiving aperture, the propagation losses and the scintillation index of LG beams are simulated. Also, for practical applications, propagation properties of "quantized" LG(5,1) beams simulated. As a result of the examination, the propagation losses and the scintillation index of LG beams is smaller than those of Gaussian beams. By applying LG beams for optical wireless communications, it is expected to improve better the effect of scintillations than using Gaussian beams. The result is that the scintillation index of quantized LG beams is equal to those of LG beams, and it suggested that quantized LG beams can be treat the quantized LG beams the same as LG beams.

Generating multiple optical frequencies referenced to the frequency standard is an important task in optical clock dissemination and optical communication. An apparatus for frequency-comb-referenced generation of multiple optical frequencies is demonstrated for high-precision free-space transfer of multiple optical frequencies. The relative linewidth and frequency instability at each channel corresponds to sub-1 Hz and 1.06×10-15 at 10 s averaging time, respectively. During the free-space transfer, the refractive index change of transmission media caused by atmospheric turbulences induces phase and frequency noise on optical frequencies. These phase and frequency noise causes induced linewidth broadening and frequency shift in optical frequencies which can disturb the accurate frequency transfer. The proposed feedback loop with acousto-optic modulator can monitor and compensate phase/frequency noise on optical frequencies. As a result, a frequency-comb-referenced single optical mode is compensated with a high signal to noise ratio (SNR) of 80 dB. By sharing the same optical paths, this feedback loop is confirmed to be successfully transferred to the neighboring wavelength channels (a 100 GHz spaced channel). This result confirms our proposed system can transfer optical frequencies to the remote site in free-space without performance degradation.

Wavefront estimation from measured slope value is an integral part in Shack Hartmann type zonal wavefront sensors that are widely used to analyze the optical aberrations in numerous application areas. Using a specific estimation algorithm, these measured slopes are converted into wavefront phase values. Hence, accuracy in wavefront estimation lies in proper interpretation of these measured slope values using an appropriate estimation algorithm. One of the important sources of error in a basic wavefront estimation process is the algorithm discretization error that primarily depends on the estimation scheme adopted. Basically, this type of error is a result of the finite sampling of the slope geometry. Algorithm discretization error plays an important role and is needed to be considered while choosing a particular estimation geometry as it determines how well the estimation process reconstructs a phase profile. In this paper, we investigate the algorithm discretization error in a recently proposed improved zonal phase-gradient algorithm18 which is a modified form of the popular Southwell geometry. The error is calculated theoretically to ascertain the causes of error and also find ways to reduce it. Both the estimation algorithms are modeled using Taylor series expansion to show the order of discretization error and eventually make a comparison of the improved geometry with the standard Southwell geometry.

We have compared measured angle-of-arrival (AOA) fluctuations to the prediction of various models, for a laser beam propagating through a turbulent atmosphere at ground level. Three models have been investigated: a simple small perturbation model, a model which incorporates also inner and outer scale effects and a third model which takes into account the contribution of additional spatial scales and is able to predict a saturation regime. Data were collected in an approximately ten year time span. We have used near infra-red LIDAR systems to determine the AOA fluctuations by measuring the short term movement of a laser spot in the receiver plane, reflected from targets placed at various distances. In parallel, we have also measured the turbulence strength with a short-range scintilometer and recorded the average wind speed along the laser path. Our analysis indicates that the simple model predictions are quite good for weak turbulence and short distances, however on the majority of the scenarios the conditions (turbulence strength and distance) are such that the AOA fluctuations deviate from the simple model and even approach saturation. In these cases the fluctuations follows the general form of the third model. We also found some differences between the day and night behavior which wasn't considered by any of the models.

A digital coherent receiver technique for an onboard receiver for use in a future space optical communication system is investigated. Digital coherent technologies comprising coherent detection and digital signal processing are confirmed to possibly increase the signal speed, improve the receiver sensitivity, and extend tolerance for the Doppler frequency shift. As a facet of expandability, the concept of a multichannel-rate receiver using a digital coherent technique is introduced. Experimental results using 2.5 Gbps DBPSK signal light demodulation are presented together with future issues involved in implementation. This study confirms that the digital coherent receiver has higher expandability than other detection techniques.

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Journal of Applied Remote SensingJournal of Astronomical Telescopes Instruments and SystemsJournal of Biomedical OpticsJournal of Electronic ImagingJournal of Medical ImagingJournal of Micro/Nanolithography, MEMS, and MOEMSJournal of NanophotonicsJournal of Photonics for EnergyNeurophotonicsOptical EngineeringSPIE Reviews